Taxi drivers make special needs kids' day
Over 600 generous taxi drivers turned off their meters today to ferry over 2,000 children with special needs around Dublin.
Hundreds of eager children and carers milled around Parnell Square hoping to meet pop star Samantha Mumba and the American R ‘n’ B singer Sisqo as they launched the cavalcade of taxis.
Dillon McMahon, 10, from Clondalkin in Dublin said: “Samantha signed my t-shirt. I couldn’t breathe it was so exciting.”
The 44th Dublin Taxi Drivers Special Children’s Outing collected people from over forty centres around the Capital for a day of festivities at Leopardstown Racecourse.
Dillon, who attends St Joseph’s in Tallaght, said: “It’s my first time coming to this event.”
His school friend Patrick Reilly added: “This is my second time going, last year was brilliant but I wished Dillon was there too. We plan to win the football games.”
Ms Mumba said her boyfriend Sisqo, who shot to success with the Thong Song, had just travelled straight to Parnell Square from the airport for the event.
The 21-year-old singer said: “It is amazing it is a much bigger deal than I ever realised. It is a wonderful event for the kids the atmosphere is great. My speech was a little bit last minute but the crowd were fantastic.”
The US singer added: “It is great for the kids.”
Tom Colgan, who has been organising the event for 25 years, said it had first started when a woman travelling in a taxi told the driver her child rarely went on an outing.
The taxi driver gathered together a few drivers and they took just five or six children out for the day.
Mr Colgan said: “In the last 25 years it has grown from around 250 to 300 kids to today.
“It has been getting bigger and better every year.”
Dublin’s Lord Mayor Michael Conaghan waved off the hundreds of beeping taxi drivers en route to Club 92 in Leopardstown, as the Garda Band from the Phoenix Park led the cavalcade into the city centre.
Mr Conaghan said: “The whole city owe a debt of gratitude to the taxi drivers for the event. They are giving up a days work and a lot of their time.
“It has become a tradition.”
John Walker, chairman of the event, said a lot of time and effort went into the day.
“The lads all come forward, we put notices up all over the city where the drivers pick up fares. The response is great every year and we are never let down,” he said.
A new band Zoo provided the music at Leopardstown and there was also face painting, clowns and jugglers in place.
The Gardaí also faced up to the taxi drivers in a game of seven-a-side football.
Garda Eoin O’Connor from the traffic division in Dublin, who was accompanying the cavalcade, said: “It is good to do something. Not enough is done in general.”
Around 50 other taxi drivers were also busy cooking up a feast for the crowd at Club 92, while sponsors Ambrosia put forward the desert.
Jimmy Delaney, a taxi driver from Tallaght, said: “There’ll be no taxis in Tallaght Square today. It is a great day for the kids and we are all looking forward to it.”
